Should Falcons complete blockbuster trade for Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick?

The Falcons are only about $4 million in the green, but that doesn’t mean they can’t create more cap space for more impactful offseason acquisitions.

If Atlanta needed considerable cap space to acquire a star, they could. Restructuring the contracts of Jake Matthews, Chris Lindstrom, Grady Jarrett, and Jessie Bates while parting ways with Lorenzo Carter and Mike Hughes would give the Flacons an additional $40+ million in cap space to work with.

That doesn’t even include the cap space from a potential A.J. Terrell contract extension. The point is no player is off limits for Atlanta. There are some notable free agents still available, but the talk of the town on social media is Haason Reddick.

At the beginning of the offseason, Ian Rapoport reported that the Eagles had given their star pass rusher permission to seek a trade. Though Reddick came out shortly after and refuted Rapoport’s report, a couple of weeks ago, the insider doubled down.

If he’s available, the Falcons should absolutely spin the wheels on a potential blockbuster trade and subsequent contract extension. Reddick’s made an All-Pro team and two Pro Bowls over the last two seasons. He hasn’t recorded fewer than 11 sacks since 2019. If that kind of production is available for trade, the Falcons should have no problem parting ways with the draft compensation and handing him an extension.

Reddick might be older, turning 30 next season, but he is clearly not slowing down. He is heading into the final year of his deal as well with a base salary north of $14 million, so a trade would have to come with a new deal.

Going from a $15 million AAV to probably north of $20 million per year (assuming) is quite the jump for Reddick, but when you’re constantly producing 10+ sack seasons, that’s the going rate. Here are some names that he’ll be compared to.

• Nick Bosa: $34M (AAV)
• Brian Burns: $28.2M
• T.J. Watt: $28M
• Myles Garrett: $25M
• Danielle Hunter: $24.5M
• Montez Sweat: $24.5M
• Josh Allen: $24M
• Rashan Gary: $24M
• Maxx Crosby: $23.5M

The Falcons have a need and Reddick wants to be paid. With contract extensions looming for several core Eagles players, Reddick’s future contract may be too much for Howie Roseman.

The Falcons, on the other hand, are in a position to spend as the window with Kirk Cousins won’t be open forever. In fact, it’s really a two year runway with the veteran, and if Atlanta wants to seriously compete, they have to upgrade this position. A Haason Reddick trade makes way too much sense for Raheem Morris, Terry Fontenot, and Arthur Blank.

In the latest episode of SportsTalkATL (below), we talk about the need for a pass rusher and Haason Reddick being an ideal target.

You can catch SportsTalkATL on The Fox 5 Local App every Monday-Friday from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET. Segments like the one below can also be found on our YouTube channel (@SportsTalkATL). 

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Photographer: Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire